Oz

Like any city, Easton has its share of problems, but this weekend it is turning into the magical and wonderful Land of Oz. And you need to help make that happen. The Follow the Yellow Brick Road community art project, presented by Mercantile Home store and gallery in Easton, has sprung from a children's book, "Over the Rainbow," written by folk singer Judy Collins. Collins' concert Friday night at the State Theatre in Easton and her book signing at Mercantile Home following the concert.

Beloved "Wizard of Oz" characters including Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Glinda the Good Witch, the Wicked Witch of the West and The Wizard will come to life Friday in a special event at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown. The event is like a live exhibit, with visitors taking guided tours through seven scenes from L. Frank Baum's classic story. There's even a dog portraying Toto. Keys scenes include Dorothy's meeting her three companions, her efforts to defeat the Wicked Witch, confronting The Wizard and finding her way back to Kansas.

Children of all ages are welcome to attend the Wizard of Oz at Allentown Public Library on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. This free presentation is produced by DeSales University's Act 3 Theater Company. There is no cost to attend but registration is required. Contact the Children's Desk at 610-820-2400 to reserve a space. The library is located at 1210 W. Hamilton St.

DeSales University's Act 3 Children's Theatre has created a magical road to Oz with colorful characters, creative set pieces and memorable costumes in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," running through May 1 in the Schubert Theatre of the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts in Center Valley. The story based on L. Frank Baum's classic tale jumps right into the cyclone scene with a clever video screen providing the clouds and lightning, while a fabric twister spins around the stage. The screen also gives the stage a feel of the open space of Kansas.

See Dorothy dance in her ruby slippers with Toto and the Scarecrow perform a memorable soft shoe tap dance Feb. 12 when Repertory Dance Theatre presents an original production, "Dorothy's Adventures in Oz. " The family Valentine's Day treat at Scottish Rite Cathedral features all the "Wizard of Oz" characters, including the Wicked Witch of the West, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man, along with a troupe of dancing poppies and falling snowflakes....

It's time to follow the yellow brick road again. "The Wizard of Oz" turns 75 next year and there are a number of ways to celebrate. Beginning on Sept. 20, "The Wizard of Oz 3-D" will be playing at IMAX theaters across the country, including the Carmike Promenade in Center Valley. The Technicolor spectacle has never been presented in 3-D before and it promises to pop off the screen. Days after the theatrical run ends, the "Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition" will be released on Oct. 1. The new package will include the Blu-ray 3-D, the Blu-ray, the DVD and Ultraviolet versions of the film plus a new making-of documentary.

DeSales University's Act 3 Children's Theatre has created a magical road to Oz with colorful characters, creative set pieces and memorable costumes in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," running through May 1 in the Schubert Theatre of the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts in Center Valley. The story based on L. Frank Baum's classic tale jumps right into the cyclone scene with a clever video screen providing the clouds and lightning, while a fabric twister spins around the stage. The screen also gives the stage a feel of the open space of Kansas.

Celebrate the 75 t h anniversary of the classic film "The Wizard of Oz" by joining Dorothy, Toto and all her friends from Oz in a one-hour children's stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic tale. DeSales University's Act 3 Children's Theatre presents "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" Tuesday through May 1 in the Schubert Theatre of the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts in Center Valley. Performances are at 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with additional shows at 12:30 p.m. on select dates.

Most people know the story of the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy of Kansas and her little dog Toto get swept up in a grand adventure with wicked witches, munchkins, a wizard and flying monkeys. Trinette Singleton, a former dancer for New York's Joffrey Ballet and co-artistic director of Allentown's Repertory Dance Theatre, has choreographed the familiar story into a new ballet. "Dorothy's Adventures in Oz," which debuts next Saturday at Allentown's Scottish Rite Cathedral, features poppies en pointe, a full-size dancing dog and a scarecrow who does a soft-shoe tap. The hourlong ballet is a condensed version of the story that begins when Dorothy arrives in Oz. Featured are 45 dancers, ages 8 and up, including the company's professional dancers, members of its pre-professional company and younger dancers from the community.

To the Editor: Once upon a time, Allentown was a progressive, forward-looking community. We had a Human Relations Bureau for 30 years that allowed local oversight of discrimination aimed at the elderly, the handicapped, tenants and employees. It also acted as a police department watchdog. Now we have a police chief, appointed and supported by the mayor, who says that most men slap their wives around and that policemen's personal behavior is irrelevant. I would argue that personal behavior is usually very similar to public behavior, especially when policemen are facing hostile and truculent people.

Celebrate the 75 t h anniversary of the classic film "The Wizard of Oz" by joining Dorothy, Toto and all her friends from Oz in a one-hour children's stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic tale. DeSales University's Act 3 Children's Theatre presents "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" Tuesday through May 1 in the Schubert Theatre of the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts in Center Valley. Performances are at 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with additional shows at 12:30 p.m. on select dates.

Children of all ages are welcome to attend the Wizard of Oz at Allentown Public Library on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. This free presentation is produced by DeSales University's Act 3 Theater Company. There is no cost to attend but registration is required. Contact the Children's Desk at 610-820-2400 to reserve a space. The library is located at 1210 W. Hamilton St.

As the pianist accompanying a gaggle of would-be Munchkins, Allen High School sophomore Nathaniel Stuart was on his 21st rendition of "Ding, Dong! The Witch is Dead" yet showed no signs of wanting to banish any of them from the Emerald City. He nodded encouragingly to the group of Allentown elementary school children on stage auditioning to represent the Lollipop Guild in Allen High's April production of "The Wizard of Oz" and said cheerfully, "Again. " "The wicked witch is dead," Stuart advised them early on at Tuesday's audition.

It's time to follow the yellow brick road again. "The Wizard of Oz" turns 75 next year and there are a number of ways to celebrate. Beginning on Sept. 20, "The Wizard of Oz 3-D" will be playing at IMAX theaters across the country, including the Carmike Promenade in Center Valley. The Technicolor spectacle has never been presented in 3-D before and it promises to pop off the screen. Days after the theatrical run ends, the "Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition" will be released on Oct. 1. The new package will include the Blu-ray 3-D, the Blu-ray, the DVD and Ultraviolet versions of the film plus a new making-of documentary.

Last month, my husband and I attended the show "The Wizard of Oz" at Lincoln Elementary School in Emmaus. A cast of 80 fourth- and fifth-graders put in more than 800 hours of practice. The music, singing and dancing were fantastic. The costumes were awesome. Our granddaughter played the good witch, Glinda. The girl who played Dorothy was superb. The students who played Toto, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Munchkins and the bad witch all gave outstanding performances.

'MAN OF STEEL' OPENS FRIDAY 1 Superman gets a reboot with "Man of Steel," the sixth installment in the superhero saga and the first since the disappointing "Superman Returns" in 2006. This one comes from "The Dark Knight Trilogy" producers Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer and serves as a prequel, telling the origin story of the DC Comics hero. Henry Cavill stars as Clark Kent, the young reporter of extraterrestrial origins, and Amy Adams is Lois Lane. Also on board is Michael Shannon as General Zod, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent and Diane Lane as Martha Kent.

Pocono Lively Arts will take you "Over the Rainbow" with Arlen and Harburg's "The Wizard of Oz." Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and next Sunday at Stroudsburg High School auditorium. The cast includes Aryn Lawrence (a senior at East Stroudsburg High School) in the lead role of Dorothy. Adult leads include Trudy Austin as Aunt Em/Glinda, Doug Beck as Zeke/ Lion, Steve Chaplar as Prof. Marvel/Wizard, Chris Martinelli as Uncle Henry and Dan O'Gallagher as Tinman.

'OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL' OPENS FRIDAY 1 When side-show magician (James Franco) dreams of greatness, he can't even imagine the adventure that awaits him until his hot air balloon gets sucked into a tornado. Much like the original, the magician emerges from the black-and-white world of Kansas into the mysterious world of Oz. But not even Dorothy would recognize Oz after Disney gets its hands on it — with Disney magic (and computers), Oz is a colorful place of talking creatures, unearthly plants, and of course, witches.